The Canadian Pacific Railway

Canada’s transcontinental railroad

Building the Railway

• Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) Company was founded in 1881.

• Canadian Government gave the CPR $25 million and 10 million hectares of land.

• In order to make more money, the government allowed the CPR to sell their land to settlers.

• In 1881, the CPR hired William Van Horne as their general Manager.

Building the Railway- continued

• Lake Superior to Winnipeg route less challenging.

Rocky Mountains

Building the Railway

• Next section westward very challenging• Hard granite rock and soft, marshy muskeg.• Seven years to build this section.• Then railway had to cross the Rockies.• Many workers killed in blasts, rock falls and

difficult weather conditions.• Railway completed November 7, 1885 at

Craigellachie, British Columbia.

The Canadian Shield

Chinese Workers• By 1885 there were 15,000 Chinese railway

workers. They were paid $1.00 a day which was less than other workers.

• They had originally built railways in the USA.• Emigrants from China hoping to make money to

send home to their family.• The Chinese workers faced more explosions, rock

slides, cave-ins and disease than other workers.• More than 600 Chinese workers died while

building the BC section of the railway.

The Role of the Railway in Western Expansion

• Railway opened up Canada from Atlantic (Nova Scotia) to Pacific (BC).

• Opened the North-West Territories for settlement.

• The Natives on the Red River Settlement could now trade with the rest of Canada rather than the US.

The Role of the Railway in Western Expansion

Canadian National Railways

• The Canadian government assumed control of a number of independent railways after they faced financial hardship between 1919-22.

• All of the acquired lines under the control of the Canadian National Railway (government owned and run) in 1922.

• CNR remained in public ownership until 1995.